Before Europeans first arrived in Asia, China was one of the most advanced and powerful
nations in the world. It was the most populous, was politically unified, and most
importantly, it had mastered the art of agriculture. However, when Europeans first landed
on Chinese shores, they found a nation that had revered to traditional culture and
warfare. Industrialization was almost nonexistent.

At the beginning of the 20th century, China was divided into sphere of
influence with each powerful Western nation trying to exert as much control over it as
possible. The Chinese resented foreigners control and expressed this at the beginning of
the 20th century with the Boxer Rebellion. At the same
time, the traditional government of China began to fail in the early years. The Chinese
people, being resentful of foreigners and dissatisfied with inability of the present
government to throw them out, initiated the Revolution of 1911, replacing the Chinese 2000
year old imperial system with the Republic of China headed by Sun Yat-sen.

In March of 1912, Sun Yat-sen resigned and Yuan Shih-kai became the next ruler of
China. Yuan attempted to reinstate an imperial system with himself as emperor causing Sun
to start one of Chinas first political parties, Kuomintang or KMT. Sun fought hard
to establish a democracy but was largely unsuccessful until the 1920s.

In 1917, China entered World War I on the side of the allies. Although China did not see
any military action, it provided resources in the form of laborers that worked in allied
mines and factories. The Treaty of Versailles ignored Chinas plea to end concessions
and foreign control of China.

On May 4, 1919, the May Fourth Movement took place in which students demonstrated in
protest of the Treaty of Versailles. The Movement helped the Chinese by promoting science
and making Chinese adopt a new easier form of writing. Moreover, the movement was the
foundation for the forming of the Communist Party of China (CCP).

During the 1920s, China was divided in a power struggle began between the CCP and
KMT. The KMT controlled a majority of China with a strong base in urban areas while the
CCP displaying smallholdings in rural communities. By 1928, the CCP was expelled and China
was nationalized under the KMT. However, the Communist Party of China resurfaced on
November 1, 1931 when it proclaimed the Jiangxi providence as the Chinese Soviet Republic.
The army of the Republic of China, under the leadership of Chiang
Kai-shek tried to destroy the Communist army in 1934, however, Chiang failed but did
cause the CCP to flee northward in the Long March.

Also in 1931, Japan began to occupy Manchuria and established
a puppet government called Manchukuo. The Japanese aggression in China became full blown
on July 7, 1937, the beginning World War II. By 1939, Japan controlled most of the east
coast of China, while Chiang blockaded the Communists in the northwest region. By 1944,
the United States began to help nationalist China, but the nationalist remained weak due
to high inflation and economic strife.

In January of 1946, the two factions of China began to have another power struggle. The
KMT, supplied by the United States, controlled the cities, while the CCP had a strong hold
in the countryside. To make matters worse, high inflation demoralized the citizens and
military. By 1948, the CCP began to wage war against the KMT, taking control of Manchuria
and working its way south. On October 1, 1949, with the retreat of the KMT to Taiwan, Mao Zedong established the Peoples
Republic of China.

The Peoples Republic of China completely changed the culture and geography of the
Chinese people. It implemented five-year plans that consisted of land
reform, social reform, cultural reform, and economic planning. The changes lead to the Great Leap Forward and Great Proletarian Cultural Reform. In 1949, China
also implemented a 30-year alliance with Russia against Japanese and Japanese allies,
although tensions strained after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1955. Relations between the
two countries remained strained until 1985.

It was not until 1970s that most Western nations established diplomatic ties to
Communist China. With the help of President Richard Nixon and his philosophy of Détente,
China was incorporated into the world community. The high point of the Peoples
Republic of China came in 1971 when it was given Taiwans position on the United
Nations Security Council.

As China was increasing its world reconciliation, the founders of the Peoples
Republic of China were slowly dying, including Mao Zedong. The lack of Zhou Enlai and Mao
in leadership roles in 1976 caused a power struggle developed between Deng
Ziaoping and Maos supports, headed by Jiang Qing. In the same year, students
demonstrated in Tiananmen Square in honor of Zhou, causing a flaw in Jiangs power.
Seeing his opportunity, Deng seized power and brought younger men with his views to power.
He developed state constitutions and brought new policies to the party in 1982.
Dengs plan was based on the four modernizations of agriculture, industry, national
defense, and science/technology. In 1987, Deng retired and Zhao Ziyang became general
secretary, and Li Peng became premier.

China remained quit for some years after the power struggle after the death of
Mao. However, in 1989, China came into the worlds eyes again with the Tiananmen Square incident. Students demonstrating in the streets of
Beijing were attacked and killed by Chinese soldiers. The event caused nations around the
world to question Chinas view of human rights and freedoms.

Today, China is one of the most talked about countries when it comes to the future of
the world economy. With more than 1.1 billion people in 1990 and an economy based on
agriculture, China, could it ever become industrialized, would have a significant impact
on global trade. It has the natural resources and manpower to build and
possess the largest economy in the world. More importantly, with the conflict between
nationalist Taiwan and communist China, China may become the next Balkans or major player
in a third World War. It is important that foreign nations understand the development of
the China before they decide which side to defend. What will Chinas role in the 21st
century be? The answer may lie in the Taiwan  China conflict.

An informational website contained bits and pieces of 20th
century Chinese history. The site contains information on maritime customs, flags, and
important events in Chinese history. The site also contains a page to link to other
Chinese and Asia resources.

A wonderful collection of essays, pictures, and accounts of how the life really was
in the Peoples Republic of China. It also contains a chronology starting in 1644,
however the majority of the information is a year-by-year list of events in the 20th
Century. The site is very useful for starting place on events in Chinese History.

Bouc, Alain. Mao Tse-Tung: A Guide to His Thoughts. New York, N.Y.; St.
Martins Press, 1977.

Bouc tries to describe the life and thinking of one of Chinas modern leaders
Mao Zedong. He carefully explains Maos ideological struggle with fellow leaders and
how he kept China unified through revolution. He exemplifies that Mao was a poor leader in
the traditional sense, but his vision and his belief in revolution kept Communist China
unified through his rein.

Cheng brilliantly looks at the causes and reasoning behind Tiananmen Square. He
tries to use a systematic study of unrest through the social, economic, political,
intellectual, and military perspectives. Cheng draws many arguments from earlier
publications and works of other professors of Chinese studies, however he uses these
earlier studies to draw new conclusions about the Tiananmen Massacre.

Chesneauz, as a well-known Sinologist, looks at the later half of Communist China.
He discusses Chinas search for industrialization under the guidance of Mao Zedong.
Chesneaux looks at the issues such as the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao to show
how China has evolved since 1949.

Edmund Clubb served twenty years of service in the United States State
Department concentrating his effort on China. In 20th Century
China, Clubb
tries to clarify the events and happenings in China before the 1949. He points out that
Sun Yat-sens and the warlords in Peking have two different accounts of events during the
time causing him to try to show his view on the political history of China in an unbiased
way.

Daubier, Jean. A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. New York, N.Y.;
Vintage Books, 1974.

Daubier looks beyond the simple power struggle during Cultural Revolution and
analyzed the fundamental goals of the revolution, showing that human values and ideals
were the important factors behind it.

This book is part of a symposium of the Communist system looking at the integration
and society built by the fourteen communist states. This particular book looks at the
Peoples Republic of China and how it tried to build a communist state.

An article found on the World Socialist website ( http://www.wsws.org
) discussing the death of Deng Xiaoping and its impact on the Chinese State.
However, the article goes into great detail to discuss the life of Deng and the impact
that he had on the Chinese state during his life.

Goodman tries to look beyond Dengs ability to transform Chinas economy
and tries to understand Dengs source of political power. He starts with Dengs
early political career and shows its evolution to the present. Through this method,
Goodman tries to unveil one of Chinas most powerful leaders.

Hartford Web Publishing posts articles that are written by different topics of Hong
Kong and its decolonization. It brings together essays of different authors with different
backgrounds, enabling a broad range of views on the issue. The site contains great
resources for future reference on Hong Kong and its situation.

Lui, F. F., A Military History of Modern China, (1924-1949). Princeton, NJ.;
Princeton University Press, 1956.

Lui is one of the first authors to attempt to analyze the Chinese army between
World War I and II. He tries to clarify what truly occurred in China and discuss their
significance to the establishment of Communist China and what could happen in the future.

Reid, John Gilbert. The Manchu Abdication and the Power, 1908-1912: An Episode in
Pre-War Diplomacy. West Point, Conn.; Hyperion Press, Inc. 1935.

Reids attempt at a study of foreign diplomacy during the reign of Hsuan
Tung. He gathers his evidence from "non-Chinese" diplomatic documentary
material to discover Chinas role in foreign policy. Most of the material Reid uses
is official or semi-official material.

Ronning, Chester. A Memoir of China in Revolution: From the Boxer Rebellion to the
Peoples Republic. New York, N.Y.; Random House, Inc., 1974.

Ronning was a Canadian youth growing up in China until he was eventually
appointment as Canadian diplomat to China. He views the rapid change in China from a first
hand perspective in which he tries to explains how each action the Chinese took led to a
new and radical change in Chinese life.

Yao Chen-Yuan, Chinese witness to the Boxer Rebellion, tells his story about what
he experienced during that time. Although not much historical information is present, it
does give a first hand account as to the situation in China at the time. Through
Yaos eyes, the seriousness of the Boxer Rebellion can be seen.

Eng puts together an informative site that contains many different types of
information on China  political, economical, historical and more. The site is broken
down into different social studies of China with links to other sites that help broaden
the subject. In the History section, Eng discusses the political leaders of China. The
site also contains links to other helpful sites in each category that he breaks down China
into.

Although the site is dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat-sen efforts and thought in Hawaii,
the site does contain a good resource. It contains real player speech by Dr. Sun and also
contains a page that gives the name of articles and books that were written on and about
him. In all, this site doesnt contain much usefulness except to hear a speech he
gave and the name of books some biographies.

This site is a comprehensive website by the Taiwanese organizations about its
history. There is information on major incidence, a photographical timeline, and
historical documents. The site contains information mostly on Taiwanese political culture
and history. There is even a section on Chiang Kai-shek and the 1995-1996-missile crisis
with China.

This sit contains maps, charts, and documents between various officers and
countries dealing with World War II. The documents are in text version for easy reading
and in original form to see the writing of individuals. The site contains twenty different
ideas that Chiang Kai-shek received or wrote, including correspondents, memoranda, memos,
and maps. It also includes fifty three different items that deal with China. Although the
site does not contain much historical information on WWII, it does contain the items and
opinions that leaders communicated to other leaders.

F. Zhang, as student, has put together a great list of references on Mao Zedong.
Each reference has a little information about the site and what can be found on it. He
also breaks the sites into seven categories: personal life, theory and publications,
historic events, the end of Maos era, sites related to Mao, multimedia sites, and
research starts. The site contains links to many different sites on Mao and is a great
starting place for any research project.

The website contains a transcript of a general discussion between Joseph Stalin and
Mao Zedong. It discusses the goals that each country has for each other and discusses
certain details to treaties. Although it doesnt contain much information, it does
give someone the ability to see how China fared in foreign relations with other countries.

This site is a look at the death and life of Deng Ziaoping. It tries to illustrate
the thoughts and ideas of Deng Ziaoping while also showing how the nation mourned his
death. The site contains a small collection of photographs that can help people visual
China under his rule.

This website contains a collection of various articles discussing the effects and
conditions of Marxism in China. All of the articles are direct works that each person has
done through research. Such topics include Marxisms relationship to Tiananmen Square
and Deng. The best article on the site discusses the reaction of the people the urban
reform of the last ten years. The site is very useful for someone to understand how
Marxism was implemented in China.

Perry discusses the political culture of China during the 20th century.
She mostly deals with the last 20 years of history including the rise of Deng to power.
However, she does support her thoughts by looking back at the beginning of the Communist
Party at which she discusses the changing of China to a Marxist state. Besides the essay,
she provides a bibliography that could help in research of the subject. In all, this essay
is one of the intellectual essays on the subject China on the web.

Leon Poon put together a masterful resource of information. The site contains a
timeline of all Chinese eras and gives a brief description of each and, at times, goes
into detail of important figures of the each time period. Poon puts a great section
together about the goals in implementations of the first five-year plan. He also discusses
the political consequences and power changes that happened due to the plan. Besides the
timeline, the site contains an extensive bibliography.

Fitch does some research on the famine caused by the Great Leap Forward. In a
famine that killed almost 30 million people, he believes that not enough people know
about. He uses historical data and quotations from histories to try to see the impact of
the famine. The site also includes some links that help explain the events in more detail.

Geremie presents an essay on the Cultural Revolution and how policy shifts require
a re-evaluation of history and historical figures. The essay even includes a section on
the conflict between Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party on the mainland. In all, it a
very intelligent and well thought out article that is a must read to understand the
Cultural Revolution.

This site contains a collection of 24 photographs of the Tiananmen Square incident.
Although there is nothing written on the site, it contains enough photographs to
illustrate the horrors and pain of the people of China.

The site discusses the documentary on the Tiananmen Square incident. It has
interactive map of Tiananmen Square. Besides this, it contains other themes and timeline
of events and most importantly links to other helpful sites.

The New Jersey Hong Kong Network puts together a comprehensive site that deals with
the striking events of the Rape of Nanking. It discusses what happens during the time
period and its consequences. Most of all, it even includes a timeline on the invasion of
China by Japan.

The group discusses the events that lead up to, including, and the events after the
Nanking Massacre. Although it doesnt go into as much detail about the Rape of
Nanking as the New Jersey Hong Kong Networks site, it does include more information
on the events leading up to the massacre.

This site is a comprehensive website by the Taiwanese organizations about its
history. There is information on major incidence, a photographical timeline, and
historical documents. The site contains information mostly on Taiwanese political culture
and history. There is even a section on Chiang Kai-shek and the 1995-1996 missile crisis
with China.

This site is made by Cal Cark to help people understand the candidates and the
issues in the 2000 Taiwanese presidential. It looks at the history of the Taiwanese
government and how for the first time the direction that it is going in is unclear. It
also gives further reading that could help understand the history of Taiwan better.